Finally, the World Health Organization confirmed what most people had been saying for many weeks: The spread of the coronavirus disease in more than one hundred countries qualifies as a pandemic. As medical professionals and government officials fight to contain the disease, we are walking into unknown territory. In the world of art, several major events have been shortened, postponed, or canceled including the Hong Kong Art Basel that was set to happen last year together with TEFAF Maastricht. 

For guidance on best practices in the art world during the global health crisis, we communicated with a few organizations on how they’d like artists to proceed. Organizations such as the American Alliance of Museums have issued resourceful guides, the Art Dealers Association of America has referred galleries to the official guidelines on CDC and the Association of Art Museum Directors has encouraged members to respond quickly to the pandemic based on specific cases. 

Given the artists’ reliance on large public gatherings and travel, the social distancing requirement has been a cause of concern. It means saying no to meetings with artists, collectors, and other remote colleagues. The director of the Association of Women Art Dealers canceled her Armory trip from the UK to the US due to the pandemic. Instead, she attended the event in New York and gave a short lecture on Zoom. 

Some of the advice issued by art organizations applies to the art world broadly. If you feel sick and the symptoms are serious, seek medical help. If you or your friend has traveled to affected nations like Italy, China, Hong Kong, or South Korea, get tested immediately. According to the reports of the college-paper.org reviews, the helpful source, art professionals should adhere to practices that apply to everyone to prevent the rapid spread of this dangerous disease. They need to wash their hands frequently, respect their respiratory etiquette and not touch their face. 

Most importantly, you need to self-quarantine if you contact someone with the virus. As the number of cases continues rising in the US and other parts of the world, art organizations and artists should be prepared for potential outbreaks. Here are several key takeaways about what you can do to mitigate the spread of this deadly disease.

1. Maintain hygiene

Clean your environment regularly and sanitize those surfaces that are frequently touched such as handrails, door handles, and books and tabletops. Adding hand sanitizers in places such as museums will ensure that the staff disinfects surfaces throughout the day. Consider changing HVAC filters if they are there. Ensure that a trained conservator uses cleaning products that don’t harm artwork.

2. Create a plan

As the virus continues to spread, more businesses are coming up with policies to protect their employees and stakeholders. A key precaution that artists and most business owners have taken is creating or implementing an emergency preparedness plan. If you don’t have a plan in place, it’s time to sit down and come up with something. 

An emergency plan outlines the steps your organization plans on taking in case an outbreak affects your business. It lays out strict measures that you and your employees should take before something awful happens. In your plan, you should include the following information:

• Steps that you’ll take to protect the stakeholders
• What you’ll do in case of an outbreak
• How stakeholders can initiate contact in case of emergencies
• What will happen to your operations if your enterprise gets affected

3. Work from home whenever possible

If you don’t have work from a home plan, now is the best time to create one. Since the coronavirus is in every nation, all kinds of businesses are coming up with alternative arrangements to keep workers and customers from coming to the office to avoid contact. You might have allowed your employees to work from home before. Or maybe it’s your first time. 

Depending on your business and industry, you may not be in a position to allow your employees to work from home. According to the reviews of Buy An Essay, the best and cheapest essay writing service, when it comes to art, you might need to interact with customers face to face to make sales and boost revenues. However, you should think of establishing a work from home policy by including things like remote procedures, guidelines, and employee eligibility.

4. Keep your stakeholders informed

Just like supervisors and managers, you need to keep your employees informed if you have them. You can share coronavirus-related updates to employees via emails or video chat. You need to keep your employees and other stakeholders up-to-date as much as you can. You need to send an email update or message at least once per day to communicate to employees about the coronavirus and the precautions that you are taking to keep them safe. Keeping all the stakeholders posted will reduce panic and stress.

5. Expect to take a hit financially

Due to the temporary forced closures, art businesses should focus on widening their insurance coverage. In case of insurance cancellation, you can purchase endorsements that cover communicable diseases. Nevertheless, closing for most galleries and art businesses will mean a substantial hit in terms of finances. According to the Association of Art Directors, galleries should think of the revenue streams that may dry up and the resources that a dealer can access to get them in the shortest time possible. Facing this fact and making clear decisions will save you a lot of time and energy in the long run.

6. Create a customer strategy

Customers will always be the backbone of your enterprise today and in the future. There’ll never be a good time like now to tap into their needs and find solutions that put their needs at the forefront.

You need to consider the needs of your customers right now because their experience has changed since the outbreak of COVID-19. Customers have changed too. And they need the support of the businesses they buy from. Your main goal should be meeting the needs of your customers in the simplest way possible. Reach out to your customers and think of the help they can get from you. You can also:

• Reduce pricing on products and services temporarily
• Offer contactless pickup or delivery
• Provide promotions and discounts
• Offer digital demos of your products
• Host online events

7. Connect with customers via email and social media

As you market your products, you should keep in mind that the last thing your customers want to hear about your enterprise is what it deals with. All they want to know is how it can help them solve their problems. Knowing the problems that your customer is facing is essential in building an emotional connection between them and your enterprise. The marketing world has changed drastically thanks to COVID-19. Now more than ever, it’s important to build virtual relationships. Focus on marketing tactics that make sense on social media platforms.

8. Have a strong online presence

According to the reviews of EssayMama help and some reports of UK SuperiorPapers, an online presence is an asset right now. If your enterprise operated physically till now, it’s time to shift into the online world. Consumers are relying on online shops and digital services to buy goods and services due to the pandemic and lockdown. A website acts as the foundation of your business today. Make one or focus on making one that’s user-friendly. Build your online presence and spend time posting on your platform. Don’t forget to post questions and interact with your customers as much as possible.

Conclusion

Most businesses are struggling to survive during the pandemic. Now that art galleries and museums have temporarily shut down, it’s up to you to come up with an effective strategy that will help you achieve your goals easily.